‘Tyranny of Elected’ - SC on appointment procedure
- 324(2): CEC/EC appt by Prez subject to Parl laws
- CEC & Other EC Act 2023 in response to SC’s 2023 Anoop Baranwal judgement
- Search Committee headed by CS 5
- Selection Committee 1 name to prez
- PM
- Union Cabinet Minister
- LoP
Concerns regarding appointment procedure
- executive dominance (2:1)
- search committee bypass
- appt. allowed even if Selection Committee has vacancies
- Bureaucratic monopoly (only secretary rank officers eligible)
- status downgrade (salaries & condn. aligned with CS, not SC judge)
Suggestions
- Goswami Committee 1990, 255th LC Report 2015: 3 member collegium w/ PM, LoP, CJI
- National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution 2002: panel of PM, LoP (LS&RS), Speaker+DC
- 2nd ARC 2007: collegium w/ PM, Speaker, LoP, Law Minister, DC
- replace minister with CJI (aligning w/ Anoop Baranwal)
- or create genuinely independent authority
- transparent eligibility criteria
- advance circulation of shortlisted names
Global best practice
- UK: recruitment of EC overseen by Speaker’s Committee on Electoral Commission
- recruitment approved by House of Commons
- USA: commission appt by Prez & confirmed bySenate
Removal of CEC/EC
324(5) - deliberate asymmetry - CEC enjoys judicial level removal protection; other EC don’t
| CEC | EC |
|---|---|
| removal like SC judge | removal by Prez on CEC recco |
| proved misbehaviour / incapacity + parliamentary address + 100/50 sign speaker accept | no parliamentary impeachment |
| each house: maj of total membership + 2/3 present & voting (quasi judicial) | CEC recommendation |
| high insulation from executive / legislative pressure | comparatively lower insulation |
2023 act retains the distinction.
Why asymmetry?
- CEC == institutional head stronger protection
- but excessive difference can create institutional vulnerability within commission
- EC may refrain from disagreeing due to perception of insecurity
Reform
- uniform removal protection for CEC + EC, preferably SC judge process
- CEC recco as a safeguard but not sole protection
- parliamentary process to remove EC
CEC special protection is justified because he/she is constitutional head some differentiation can preserve administrative flexibility. However, for an institution entrusted with electoral neutrality, security of tenure should attach to all decision makers.
Limitations of CEC/EC
- appt. executive dominated
- asymmetric removal protection
- MCC lacks statutory force
- weak control over political parties (funding, internal democracy)
- money power exceeds regulatory capacity
- criminalization of politics
- dependence of ECI on govt machinery (no secretariat; budget not charged)
- post election adjudication are outside ECI
- digital / social media ecosystem (deepfake, AI gen content, micro targeting)
- institutional transparency concern (SIR, CEC selection)
Electoral Funding
Issues
- ADR: dominance of corporate funding (92%) parties serving business interests
- Geographic concentration - delhi, maharashtra, gujarat
- zero declaration trend for above 20,000 by BSP
- electoral trusts remain major donor
- Electoral bond: information asymmetry; privacy of donor
Reforms
- mandatory real time disclosure
- lower disclosure threshold (current 20k)
- state funding
- ceiling on party expenditure (255th LC 2015)
- Independent auditing by panel approved by CAG
- decouple corporate influence restore 7.5% cap of net profit on corp donations
- grant ECI statutory power to de-register political party if it fails to submit audited accounts or violates funding norms
State funding of elections
- govt provides financial support to political parties
- derived from public resources
- promotes transparency, fairness, equal opportunities; reduces corruption; strengthening political parties
- types
- direct
- indirect: subsidized / free media access, tax advantage, complimentary use of public spaces, provisions for utilities, travel expenses, transport, security
- Current measures
- free airtime on public broadcasters for national parties during general elections & for registered state parties in state legis elections
- national parties benefits - security, office space, utility subsidy
- registered political parties exempt from paying income tax (Sec13A of IT Act)
- Indrajit Gupta Committee 1998: endorsed, for level playing field
- Law Commission 1999: state funding desirable
- 2nd ARC 2008: partial state funding to curb illegitimate & unnecessary funding of election expenses
- downsides
- burden on taxpayer
- misuse of state funds
- risk of dependency
- challenges in implementation
Reforms in elections
- Indrajit Gupta Committee 1998: partial state funding to reduce role of money power
- Law Commission 170th Report 1999 state funding desirable + strict regulation of party finances
- Vohra Committee 1993: highlighted politician - bureaucrat - criminal nexus
- LS 2024: 46% declared criminal cases, 31% serious
- Lily Thomas 2013: immediate disqualification
- regulate political party
- finances, internal democracy etc
- strengthen EC
- independent appointment
- uniform security of tenure for all EC
- greater control over staff, finances etc
- CFI expenses
- strict MCC make statutory
- tackle paid news, digital misinformation (Law Commission 255th)
- speedy resolution of election disputes
One Nation One Election
- support: Law Commission 170th Report 1999
+ve
- cost reduction by eliminating separate election cycles
- focus on long term governance
- inc voter turnout
- level playing field due to reduced expenses
- efficient use of security forces
- governance continuity, no frequent MCC imposition
- election fatigue
-ve
- synchronization challenge
- federalism issues in implementation
- impact on voter behaviour - confusing national & state issues
- impact on regional parties - national parties will have edge
- accountability concerns due to fixed terms
Challenges
- overshadow regional issues
- disproportionately benefit national parties
- political accountability reduced
- term of SLA - premature dissolution?
- logistical
Kovind Committee 2023
- Phase I: simultaneous LS+SLA
- Phase II: panchayats w/in 100d of general election
- single EPIC/electoral roll for all election
- fresh elections only for remaining term
- Union Cabinet accepted reccos in Sept 2024